Stargate: Return of the Ancients, Season 2, Ep 6
by Aer-ki Jyr
Summary: Episode, "Gemini" Year: 2016
1. Chapter 1

"Are you coming?"

Zoe pried her eyes away from the deactivated stargate and shook her head at her fellow townsman. "No, I think I'll wait a bit longer."

"Suit yourself," her friend said, walking off down the dirt trail that lead into the town of Hollis. "Bret's not going to like it though…"

Zoe looked back at the great ring, ignoring the warning. Her betrothed, Bret, wanted her at his side at all times…and until this morning she'd meekly complied. But the arrival of the soldiers had awoken something inside of her, something that yearned for more than the quiet life of perpetual domestic servitude. She couldn't ever remember feeling like this before, but at the moment she wanted nothing to do with her village or its people. Her mind was fixed squarely on the three men that had come to their village through the ring and promised a life free of the Wraith.

The village elders had been skeptical, but eventually agreed to send two representatives through the ring to see this promised 'sanctuary' and report back later today. They had yet to return, and it was nearly dusk.

Zoe knew she should be heading back, not only for the protection of the village from the local wildlife, which grew more bold as night fell, but also because she would be scolded for being unaccounted for…or as she liked to put it, "out of their world." Hollis wasn't the most restrictive village, but Zoe had always had to fight the urge to, well, deviate from normal behavior. Her upbringing had been closely scripted, her social interactions were dictated by her parents…even her upcoming marriage had been arranged by the village and was not of her choosing. With only 2,000 inhabitants, the elders insisted that only with a tight controlling influence would their people survive, and with recent Wraith raids that number had decreased by a third. Still, something about her people had always set wrong with Zoe Sevesean, and that feeling had exploded inside of her when she first laid eyes on the armored offworlders.

They had come through the ring early that morning, just before dawn. When they entered the village their bodies rippled with color as the hard shells that they wore changed with every step they took. After a while Zoe realized the colors matched what was around them…which further blew her mind away.

The strangers told them their world was not safe from the Wraith…no surprise there…but then they told of a world called Leesat, guarded by the Ancestors, the makers of the great rings, where they could live free of the Wraith. Those in the village scoffed at the idea, no one was ever free of the Wraith. But Zoe knew they spoke the truth, knew it in her heart and in her dreams and hopes and everything inside of her that screamed of life.

She had followed the men and the two villagers to the ring and watched them leave…and had been waiting for their return ever since. They were supposed to have returned by midday…

Zoe pulled her cloak tighter around her neck. The evening winds were cooling off, and she knew that within a few hours the air would become like ice. She should have headed back to the warm fires of Hollis, but something inside her wouldn't let her leave.

When the sun finally did go down, she began to worry. There was little starlight, with great wisps of cloud blanketing the sky, and she could barely see her hands in front of her face now. She hadn't expected to be outside this late or she would have brought a torchlight.

Zoe curled up beside the pedestal next to the ring, pressing her back against it and dropping her hood as far over her head as she could, conserving warmth. She pulled her knees up to her chest and covered those as well with her cloak. She looked like a dark colored rock beside the pedestal, almost blending into its structure.

Soon a loud noise came…but it wasn't of the woods. It was unreal, and after a spike of fear shot through her body she realized it was the sound of the great ring coming to life.

She stumbled to her feet just as the woods were blinded with bluish light. Her eyes hurt, but she blinked away the pain gladly as the small ring cloud pulled back inside the wall of water.

Soon two familiar faces walked out of the great ring and Zoe ran to greet them.

"Child, what are you doing here?" one of them asked.

"I wanted to hear…" she said, her words coming out with difficulty.

The elderly man's face broadened into a wide smile, only partially visible in the backlight. "It is beyond wonder."

Zoe smiled widely as the light of the great ring disappeared. All was darkness for a moment, Zoe couldn't see a thing, just varying degrees of darkness.

The shadow nearest her shifted and a small yellow light burst forth inside a tiny crystal. Framed within a cradle of wood, the torchlight hung from a small handle and provided the three villagers enough light to see the path before them. The second elder withdrew a similar device from beneath his heavy robes and lit the tiny flame inside. Then they began to walk.

"Can we go?" Zoe finally asked. She knew she was supposed to speak only when spoken to in the presence of an elder, but she couldn't help herself.

After a pair of long looks the second elder deigned to answer her. "I do not know. That is up to the council to decide…but the outsiders spoke the truth. They are free of the Wraith."

"Where are the soldiers?" she asked.

"They are not needed now. They will return in a few days to await our decision. Now, be silent and walk."

Zoe bit down on her lip to forestall any more questions bursting forth, but she was practically jumping in the air with each step. She was so excited she would not sleep a wink tonight. In the morning the council discussions would begin…and after four days of heated debate, relocation was decided upon for two villages, while the others defiantly refused to abandon their planet, their culture, and their tightly confined and controlled lives. However, when the soldiers returned and opened the great ring back to Leesat, many runaways from the other villages appeared at the stargate and anonymously joined the refugee throng…including Zoe Sevesean.

Zoe had never stepped through the great ring before, few of her people had. She did so eagerly, leaving behind her family, her betrothed, her entire way of life for the glimpse of a better future that she'd unexpectedly encountered a few days ago. It was the purest, truest feeling and one that she would follow to the end of her days without fail…so when she stepped into the wall of water she didn't hesitate as many others did. She rushed forward, embracing the adventure and saying goodbye to her boorish world.

On the other side she ran into the back of another villager that had stopped short. Zoe saw nothing but the small of his back as her face smacked into it.

"Keep moving forward," she heard a voice say as she pried herself free of the man's brown robe and looked up. The sky was orange, but other than that she couldn't see anything, given the fact that she was more than two hands shorter than the others around her. Someone else bumped into her from behind, and the crowd felt as if it was swallowing her up until some cracks began to form ahead and the group began walking forward.

When she had a partial view her feet kept moving by some magic of their own, for her mind was froze with awe. In the distance, visible between two villagers on her right, were great candlesticks rising into the sky. They gleamed of silver and reflected orange highlights, far off in the distance. Zoe had never seen such things before, nor did she have any idea what they were, but her heart told her this was where she belonged. Her life had just begun anew.

She bumped into someone on her left, then pried her eyes away from the horizon enough to follow the others between several low columns and into three single file lines. Zoe tried to look around, but couldn't see much between everyone. She was in the center line, so her view was still mostly blocked. She looked down at her feet and saw smooth polished stone, dark green in color beneath them. The columns she walked between were of similar color, and her skin prickled as she passed through, leaving her with goosebumps for a few seconds.

Just ahead, there was a woman giving instructions to the person first in line as well as asking questions. A minute later the line moved up, and Zoe caught a few of the words. Her speech was odd, even more so than that of the soldiers, but it sounded fresh and crisp, as well as calm and controlled. It immediately put her at ease, making her feel safe and at home. A few more minutes and it was her turn to wait at the head of the line as the man in front of her stepped onto a small platform a few meters in front of her while a soldier motioned for her to stay put. She did so, eagerly awaiting her turn, and trying to memorize the questions so she'd have her answers ready.

"Your turn," the male soldier said, giving her a friendly wink as he nudged her shoulder with the palm of his hand.

Zoe took four giant steps and planted herself in front of the woman, who smiled gently as she looked into her eyes. "Place your hand here please."

Zoe reached her palm out and touched a stone square. It glowed blue after a moment's touch.

"Thank you. What is your name?"

"Zoe Sevesean," she said smiling.

"What is the name of the world from which you came?"

"We call the world Belssit, but I'm from the town of Hollis."

"Well then, Zoe Sevesean," the woman said in perfect mimicry, "you are going to be sent into processing, where you will be taught what you need to know to begin your new life here. You must go through this transitional period alone, but you can be reunited with family and friends afterward, if you wish. Is there someone you wish to be notified of your progress? We can arrange a meeting afterwards."

"No," Zoe said quickly. She wanted to get away from her people and explore this place, and she knew the first thing that the others would do would be to try and restrict her movements.

"Do you have any injuries?" the woman asked.

"No, I'm fine."

The woman smiled again. "Welcome to Leesat. Please walk forward," she said, pointing to an archway a few steps ahead.

"Thank you," Zoe said enthusiastically. She hurried forward and walked under the arch. Two vertical walls encased her on either side, but the orange sky was unobscured above her head. A few steps in and the pathway turned to the right, and she followed it, losing sight of her people and the great ring behind her, but she barely noticed. Her mind was on the road ahead of her, figuratively and literally.

After a short zigzag, the tunnel/path became a long straight shot off into the distance. Zoe hesitated for a moment, trying to see to the far end. When she stopped, small blue lights appeared on the floor beneath her feet and moved in sequence down the path. Zoe laughed aloud and walked with the lights down the long stretch until the pathway dead ended in a round circle wall. The lights indicated that she should step inside the circle, and she did so, looking around confused as to what to do next.

"Hello?" she asked meekly.

Suddenly there was a loud noise and Zoe thought she had fallen into the floor as it rose up around her, followed by a white light…then suddenly she found herself somewhere else…indoors.

"Hello…don't be afraid, Zoe. Come this way," a woman said standing a few feet in front of her…the same woman who had been at the great ring asking her questions.

"Where am I?" she asked, stepping forward.

"You are inside the processing center. You were transported inside the city. Now…first things first. We need to get you some new clothing, a hot meal, and a place to relax…then I'll explain everything."

"Okay…" Zoe said, not entirely understanding.

"Don't worry, I'll take good care of you," the hologram said. "My name is Leesa, and I'll be your host during this transition period." Leesa pointed to the wall in the short, white hallway in which they stood and a hidden door opened. "In here, dear."

Zoe walked through the doorway and saw a moderately sized room with a small pond in the middle.

"Now," Leesa said, clapping her hands together. "Let's get you out of these clothes and into a nice warm bath."

* * *

><p>Processing took a day and a half, and proved stressful for many refugees being thrust into a new culture that broke many of their existing beliefs and taboos, but for Zoe it proved liberating. At the end of the indoctrination…and with the help of a few neural downloads…she felt exhilarated and ready to start exploring the city, or rather cities. There were three on Leesat, with a fourth currently under construction. Access to city 2 was restricted, as well as parts of 3, but that still left hundreds of square dekmas of Lantean city to explore.<p>

It was funny how she knew what a dekmas was without ever being told. Lots of other things she saw or heard made since, but she could have sworn she'd never seen them before. Leesa said that would happen a lot, and not to worry about it. It was just part of the transition.

It was the same thing how, without ever being inside city 1 before, Zoe knew how to get to her newly assigned quarters, as well as the access code to enter them. She walked inside and began to look around, amazed that all of this splendor was for her. There was a large panoramic window, slightly curving to match the outside of the spire, that showed a slice of the city as well as the pink sky as the twin suns were beginning to rise in what this world called 'morning.' Zoe sat down in a 'chair' and sank down into the cushions, her jaw opening with a silent sigh. She was used to hard wooden chairs and this…this was pure bliss.

Zoe sat and watched the sky gradually shift from pink to orange, just soaking in her surroundings for what seemed a long, yet short time. Her body wanted to relax and sleep, but her mind wouldn't let her. She was so ALIVE that she couldn't waste a metak by sleeping!

Metak…there was another new word that popped into her head. A time measurement, she knew, and she could even feel how long it was.

Zoe leaned her head back and laughed…this was too incredible! It was like she was in a dream that she did NOT want to wake up from.

She thunked the side of her head with her finger to make sure she was awake, then laughed again. Yep…this was real.

Outside the window a shimmer appeared on the edge of the city and rose up above them. Zoe didn't know what it was…there was a lot she didn't know, but the sound that soon rang out throughout the city she recognized. It had a metallic feel to it, and kept repeating for a third of a metak before stopping.

It meant danger, and that she should get to somewhere safe and out of the way. Her quarters were the best place, she knew, so she didn't have to do anything but stay put. Still, a chill ran through her. What danger could there be here?

Zoe shrugged it off after a bit, then turned her attention back to the sky as the first of the two suns appeared over the near mountain ridge. A while later, the orange of the sky intensified and sparked in random spots overhead. Zoe got out of her chair and walked to the window, pressing her hands against the smooth invisible material and looked up as much as she could. The bright orange spots were only above them, not near the ground. Zoe didn't know what it was…but it was beautiful.


	2. Chapter 2

"_Alright, what we have here is…well, actually I don't know_," Daniel said, frowning. "_Pause recording_."

Daniel stared at the small cube in his hand. "_Leesa, what is this?_"

"_It is an emergency locator beacon, in galaxy_," the disembodied voice of the pseudo A.I. answered.

"_In galaxy?_"

"_The range of the device_," she answered.

"_Right…what is it doing here?_"

"_An emergency beacon is standard issue in survival kits_."

"_Then why didn't I see it on the list?_" Daniel asked, referring to the survival pack inventory list that he'd pulled up from Atlantis's database. He was narrating an instructional hologram for the basic training portion of the maturia curriculum he and Weir were tweaking, as well as for the conversion training of older refugees.

"_The list is Lantean, the device is Alterran in origin_."

"_Of course…so why did I pull up the wrong text._"

"_It was the only text available to you_," Leesa answered his rhetorical question.

Daniel looked up at the ceiling of his workroom. "_Then how did this device get here?_"

"_You asked me to assemble all the pertinent items. I did so_."

"_But not based off this list?_" Daniel said, a bit tired/frustrated.

"_Not entirely. I supplemented additional items as needed_."

"_Based on what source material? Or did you just come up with them based on your own creativity?_" Daniel mocked.

"_You are well aware that I do not possess the capacity for 'creativity_,'" she mildly corrected him. "_I referenced Alterran files for the supplemental components of the survival kit_."

"_Components? What else is in here…never mind. Can you show me the Alterran itemized list._"

"_That list is currently in restricted portions of database memory_."

Daniel ran his fingers along the bridge of his nose, rubbing the inner corners of his eyes. "_So you can give me information from Alterran files, but can't give me access to the files themselves?_"

"_Provisionally correct_."

"_Figures…why didn't the original Lanteans utilize the Alterran list? Why create their own with pieces missing?_"

"_Unknown, but theoretically speaking it could have been for the same reason you are modifying Lantean protocols instead of utilizing them as is_."

Daniel inclined his head. "_Point taken_."

He looked back down at the cube and the other items spread across a small rectangular platform in front of him. "_Ok, what else in here isn't on the Lantean list…and you'd better tell me how it works before we start recording again_."

"_The long, cylindrical item on your left is…perimeter alert_," Leesa said, her tone altering slightly. "_We have ships approaching in hyperspace, two minutes out_."

Daniel put the cube down. "_Why didn't the city's sensors detect them earlier?_"

"_Unknown, but current ship count estimate is upwards of 50…and climbing. You'd best get to the control room_."

"_Right…prioritize nearest lift_."

"_Already holding one for you_," Leesa said, opening the door for Daniel as he left his 'lab' and turned the corner with a quick gate. There was a transport chamber a brisk walk away, but with so much city traffic there was usually a delay in the system. Given that Daniel was in de facto command of Leesat, he could assert priority at any time, but usually refrained from what he considered a mild 'abuse of power.' This, however, was a different situation.

Daniel stepped into the chamber a minute later and turned about. He let Leesa set the controls for him as the doors closed…then opened again and he walked out onto a large promenade where he hit a nearby ramp of stairs spiraling up three levels. His blue overrobe/lab coat fluttered in his wake as he jogged up the stairs to the second level where the planetary control staff resided.

"_Talk to me_," Daniel said, noting Leesa's hologram already present on her usual pedestal alongside the staff.

"_Silhouettes are fuzzy_," one of the Lantean staffers said. "_We can't make out who they are…but they're not responding to IFF queries_."

"_That's not good_," Daniel muttered. "_Orbital defense?_"

"_Already coming online_," Leesa answered. "_We'll be weapons hot just before they arrive_."

"_Contact Atlantis_," Daniel ordered. "_Let them know our situation…better yet, give them a live feed and give me the same on the central display_."

The sunken pit on this side of the ring-like second level glowed to life with a larger version of the smaller holographic displays dotting the control stations. Leesat and her orbital platforms and ships appeared in the center, taking up a third of the display. Entry vectors flashed off and on anticipating the arrival of the incoming ships.

A personal hologram materialized next to Daniel. "_Hey, what's up?_"

"_Hi, Jack_," Daniel said, expecting one of the Stevensons. "_We seem to have a bit of a situation developing._"

"_I can see that_," his old friend said, sarcastic as always. "_I told you you should never send out generic invitations…never know who'll show up_."

"_Yeah…but then you miss out on getting to meet new people_," Daniel countered . "_I'm a little worried here. Don't suppose you have a few ships you could head in this direction, just in case_."

"_I just diverted two Columnars with fleets your way_," Jack said, now serious. "_ETA is 20 and 35 minutes._"

"_Well that's comforting_," Daniel mewed. "_Sensors didn't pick up the ships in hyperspace until a few minutes ago._"

"_I know_," Jack said, studying the sensor feeds as he talked. "_Not really a good sign_ _there_."

"_Not Wraith, then?_"

"_Probably not…but that leaves a very big question hanging in the air_."

"_Who has ships that can sneak up on us like that?_"

"_At least we won't have to wait long to find out_," Jack said, noting the arrival ETA, along with the rest of Leesat's statuses. "_I'd raise the city shields, if I were you_."

"_Right_," Daniel echoed. "_Let's do that_," he said, addressing his staff.

"_Just the shields?_" one of the staffers asked, "_or a full defensive lockdown?_"

Before Daniel could answer the first wave of the arriving ships began dropping out of hyperspace. Everyone fell silent for the next few seconds.

"_Full lockdown_," Daniel confirmed. "_Jack…_"

"_I know_," his friend said, seeing the same hologram. "_Turtle up and hold tight. We'll get more ships your way._"

"_A military commander would be nice too_…" Daniel added.

"_Matt's already on his way_…"

* * *

><p><em>7 months earlier…<em>

Attached adjacent to his personal quarters in Alba Longa, Romulus had a lab that he did more of his cerebral work in. Right now he stood, leaning on the waist-high circular railing that encompassed a medium-sized holoprojector replaying various battle data that had been collected over the past year and a half by their Wraith monitoring network of satellites and discrete probes. Up now was the assault on Ijara by…whoever these people were. They still hadn't discovered their identity, but they were obviously using Lantean technology, and then some. That still puzzled Romulus. Atlantis had fallen, as far as he knew. If they had survived then where had they been for the past 10,000 years? Furthermore, why hadn't they fielded a large fleet at the outset of this resumed war?

Yes, these massive ships were far more powerful than anything Romulus had ever seen before, but as far as his data went, they'd only been deployed in small numbers at the outset of the war, as if only a few ships were available.

Romulus considered the possibility that this pseudo-Lantean race was extra-galactic and that only a few ships had been initially dispatched…and that was a feasible hypothesis. Without more data he couldn't be certain, especially given that they hadn't been able to pinpoint any base of operations within the galaxy. That wasn't to say they were hiding…just an annoying lack of reconnaissance due to the fact that the Wraith had been the subjects of interest for centuries, and they didn't tend to move around a lot, thus Romulus's reconnaissance tools weren't as robust as he needed them to be right now.

Romulus had considered attempting to make contact with these new Lanteans, or whoever they were, but had held off. A good scientist studies the subject before interacting, and there were so many unknown factors that both he and Remus felt it was best to adopt a 'wait and see' approach. At the least, this war would reduce the Wraith numbers and expedite their eventual victory when they finally chose to join the fight.

But then what of the aftermath? Would this new race prove hostile? Or would they take the typical Lantean 'live and let live' philosophical approach to life in general? They certainly weren't fighting like Lanteans. They knew how to design warships and put them to good use…something Romulus's brethren had never quite got the handle of.

The battle Romulus was currently viewing was a week old. The Wraith had a small number of super-densely populated star systems, and Ijara was one of them. They were the most heavily defended, now as well as 10,000 years ago. During the first war, the Lantean fleet wasn't even able to _approach_ a 'prime' system. The Wraith warfleet would intercept the ships before they even got within range. As a result, Atlantis…and by default Alba Longa…never had good intel on these Wraith strongholds. Most of the fighting had occurred over secondary systems and worlds of moderate value to the Wraith during the few counter-incursion expeditions the Lanteans managed to field, but most of the time it was withdrawal after withdrawal as the Wraith threw an unending stream of ships at the Lanteans' superior firepower.

Piece by piece their galaxy was taken away from them by a race that used primarily biotechnology. Romulus found that particularly offensive. Lantean tech was far superior, both in design and basic nature. Mechanical construction would always be superior to biotech, and to make matters worse, the Wraith had even managed to hack some of the Lanteans' computer systems. Systems so foreign to their biotech that Romulus still couldn't deduce how they'd managed that feat. The Wraith were deceptively dangerous, and careful planning was required to conquer them and reclaim their galaxy. They'd have one, and probably only one, chance to win a second war, so they had to make their efforts count when they finally decided to launch 'Avenger'…the battleplan that they'd been constructing against the Wraith for millennia.

Now, however, that careful planning was largely obsolete. Outside interference hadn't been calculated, nor was such effective strength being applied against the Wraith. Whoever these new Lanteans were, they were kicking the crap out of the Wraith, and oddly, the Wraith couldn't seem to adapt like they had countless times in the past.

Romulus studied the warring fleets emblazoned in holographic greens and blues in front of him. The blues were the attackers, the green were Wraith. There were 11 massive 'control ships' assaulting the orbital defenses around Ijara, each with 300-500 smaller support ships that appeared to be unmanned. Romulus's data detected a high amount of wireless data traffic being passed between the ships, but that was all he could deduce. The mechanics of the transfer of data were outside typical Lantean construction, and thus no eavesdropping was possible. The probes' sensors could detect that it was there, but nothing more than that. Whatever communicative control systems they were using, they existed outside of his current knowledge of physics.

Which was yet another reason why Romulus was worried. If these people…assuming they _were_ people…proved hostile, they would amount to a formidable foe, perhaps one that they couldn't contend with, given that they used similar, yet more advanced technology. If they were descendants of the original Lanteans, they might still be holding a grudge, but he didn't see that as a true threat. Exile had been the Lanteans method of dealing with Alba Longa, and while they might choose to push their advantage and assert some level of control over them if they felt they were in a superior position, the warfleet Romulus and Remus had been constructing would be enough to staunch their egos. The Lanteans didn't like getting their hands dirty, so he really wasn't worried about that possibility.

However, given the battle tactics displayed, he was beginning to concede the fact that these weren't Lantean descendants that they were dealing with, especially given the assault on Ijara. In recent months, the number of Wraith ships had more than tripled. Their biotech construction gave them the ability to grow ships rapidly when they devoted sufficient resources, and that had been a point of concern for Avenger. They had planned to recon their 'shipyards' and tag them as first strike points, hitting and disabling them, or at the very least delaying their constructs, in order to avoid this type of rapid buildup of naval power.

Unfortunately this new war had resparked the Wraith's war machine…but oddly, it wasn't proving to enough. The Wraith's enemy was bringing forces to bear that might have been able to be defeated, but they were wielding them with such precision and ingenuity that the Wraith were literally wasting ships in a pointless defensive strategy.

Romulus paused the battle data and brought up and briefly reviewed a chronological holo of the galaxy. While their data was incomplete, they had tagged and monitored over 1,000 Wraith-held or inhabited worlds. Using previously sifted data plots, Romulus replayed the beginning of the war for the umpteenth time. He was learning a great deal about warfare by studying their battles, but so much still escaped him. He was a scientist by nature, and warfare was something of a learned aptitude…and he needed much more study into the subject matter.

The first wave of the assault had targeted small Wraith worlds and outposts, which were quickly overwhelmed by the invaders massive ships. Several counterattacks by the Wraith had been undertaken, but without massive numbers the Wraith had no chance of victory and wasted many ships learning that fact…which left them in a precarious position. Do they abandon their holdings or needlessly waste more ships?

Romulus agreed they had little choice but to pull back, and the invaders had systematically cleansed planet after planet of Wraith infestation. Literally, probe reconnaissance showed that all Wraith biotech had been eradicated. Large, surface based and even subsurface Wraith structures had been excavated out of the landscape. Whoever these people were, they wanted the Wraith gone for good, and were doing a methodically perfect job of it.

Romulus advanced the chronological holo in increments, and the number of green dots indicating Wraith worlds began to be shaved down. Not many at a time, but consistent enough that large swaths of the galaxy were being cut out of Wraith territory.

He stopped the holo when the timestamp coincided with the Wraith's first big counterattack. They seemed to know the invaders strategy…not that it was hard to miss…and waited in ambush over a small outpost, hidden behind several nearby moons. Eventually one of the large invaders' ships appeared to destroy the Wraith facility and the trap was sprung. The Wraith tried to bottle up the enemy using hyperspace jammers and swarms of ships blocking physical evasion.

Soon there was a giant fur-ball of combat glowing in front of Romulus, with the small blue rectangle in the center of a mass of green dots. He watched with admiration as the invaders' ship destroyed so many Wraith ships before its shields eventually went down…and even then continued to devastate their numbers. Big ships were always hard to kill, but this warship design was particularly resilient. Even with numerous hull breaches it still continued to fight…destroying 72% of the Wraith fleet. Romulus had watched this engagement often, and even ran simulations to determine what the outcome would have been had a second invader ship not appeared and mopped up the rest of the Wraith fleet.

Either the invaders had luckily had a ship nearby or, he wondered, exactly how fast were their hyperdrives? Being able to reinforce each other so quickly made any future attempts at ambush by the Wraith pointless…and after that battle the Wraith had completely dropped any attempt at counter attack. Instead they chose to reinforce their prime worlds and wait…for what Romulus didn't know, but he doubted they would just give up. They were always plotting something, but it seemed they didn't have an answer to this new threat that was proving to be their bane.

That gave Romulus an ironic sense of satisfaction. Someone was FINALLY sticking it to the Wraith, and they were using Lantean technology to do it. There was a bit of shame in that too, but the payback felt good, even if they weren't the ones dishing it out.

Romulus resumed the chronological hologram and watched as more and more Wraith worlds vanished. Nearly two thirds vanished by the end of the update, which brought them to the battle at Ijara. Romulus found it curious that the invaders hadn't swept up the remaining small Wraith outposts before going after one of the big ones. Maybe they wanted to keep the Wraith guessing, or maybe the Wraith had forced their hand someone. He kept expecting the menace to come back with a massive counterblow…not through sheer firepower, but through something devious. Whatever the case, the invaders had chosen to retake Ijara…and retake it they had.

The 'battle' had taken over a week, so in all fairness it might have been better to think of it as a siege, but given that the result had been a total rout Romulus couldn't bring himself to consider it as such. The invaders had lost many of their support ships, and two of their control ships had taken significant hull damage, but the Wraith still couldn't find a way to kill one. They'd had more than sufficient firepower in orbit to do so, just with their 50,000+ fleet, but they also had hundreds of orbital weapon platforms covered in dense hull armor.

Romulus would never have assaulted a world THAT heavily defended, but the invaders hadn't balked. They began with a series of faints that drew Wraith ships out, away from the platforms, and then chewed away at their numbers while preserving their own. The Wraith quickly figured out the tactic and adjusted…which began a long, elegant chess match in space, with the invaders proving the superior strategists.

This one battle fascinated Romulus to no end…he literally couldn't stop studying it. It gave them so much data on both sides that it was proving invaluable in their profile analysis.

Romulus updated the feed to current, which was monitoring the ongoing ground ops. Most of the Wraith had been exterminated from orbit, but there were many subsurface facilities that had to be cleaned out, and the invaders had subsequently brought in a large number of ground troops to do the job. Scans were scratchy from such a distant position, but Romulus was fairly sure at least some of the ground forces were automated, and some were lifeforms. Anything beyond that he couldn't determine without a closer scan…which was unfeasible. Moving the probes any closer would risk their detection.

Still, he could track the aerial movement of more than 200 navicula porta over the surface battlefields, as well as a host of other craft. Most of the warfleet in orbit had dissipated…off to other assignments or back to base, Romulus didn't know, but 5 control ships remained with over 1000 support ships as they dominated local space while their ground troops put the finishing touches on the invasion.

Romulus microscopically shook his head. If the Wraith couldn't find a counter strategy soon, they'd be annihilated within the next two years…assuming the invaders could track down all the stragglers. If and when that happened, Romulus had been considering lending a hand. He figured that they had at least some intel on Wraith worlds that the invaders did not, and it might help to have something to offer when they eventually made first contact. How and when that would occur, he didn't know, but if the Wraith didn't do something soon, the logistical numbers would start to tip so far out of their favor that even if they did develop a master stroke they wouldn't have the resources left to implement it.

Part of Romulus wanted to take their fleet and jump in the fight NOW. They'd been waiting so long for this war that somehow it just felt wrong to sit on the sidelines and watch…but he knew they had to be careful. If the Wraith's bane proved to be an enemy for Romulus and Remus as well, then they'd need every ship and iktal they had to counter the threat in a very different type of war…one that Romulus had no clue what it would look like. They badly needed reconnaissance, and the only way to get it was to stop hiding and start actively looking.

"_I agree_," a voice behind Romulus said, breaking up the silence.

Romulus inhaled quickly and stood. He hadn't noticed anyone approach.

He turned around and raised a curious eyebrow. "_Hello, Remus. I didn't realize you were in the city_."

"_You still have the bad habit of broadcasting your thoughts when you're in deep thought. You're too easy to read_," the young man said, walking up next to his peer and 'tapping' one of the blue ship icons. "_We have a name now. They're called the Alterra_…"

Romulus ran the name through his memory… His eyes widened.

"_The same_," Remus confirmed. "_Our own progenitors. They will prove to be a very difficult enemy to defeat_."


	3. Chapter 3

Romulus raised an eyebrow. "_Where did they come from…and why do you believe them to categorically be an enemy?_"

Remus began to pace slowly around the perimeter of the room. "_It appears they are a genetic recreation of the original Alterra due to a series of hidden memory caches that activate when they encounter sufficiently advanced seed species. Apparently the process hadn't come to fruition until recently. Their numbers are few, at present, so we must act swiftly_."

Romulus processed the data quickly, as usual. "_This was the purpose of the placement of the seed species. The Alterra intended for them to be their legacy, not us_."

"_Yes_," Remus confirmed. "_We did the dirty work, protecting their genetic material until it could cycle to completion. Now what do you think they plan for us?_"

"_Extermination wasn't their way_," Romulus argued.

"_Tell that to the Wraith_."

"_What haven't you told me?_"

"_You fail to see the threat?_"

"_I see a potential ally_."

"_Wishful thinking. As you've previously noted, the Alterra don't behave as our Lantean brothers. They are more belligerent, more forceful, more skilled. If we drew the wrath of the lesser, what does that say for the present situation?_"

"_You're still making assumptions_," Romulus countered, not liking Remus's tone. "_Where did you get this information?_"

"_They're not exactly keeping it a secret. Many worlds in the galaxy already know their story. They seem quite eager to boast._"

"_If they're as powerful as you suggest, we can't afford to make the mistake of misjudging them. Assuming they're hostile is unacceptable. We must confirm your hypothesis before any action is to be taken_."

"_Prudent, yes, but time is on their side. Even fighting the Wraith, they are growing stronger by the day. If we delay, we grant them further advantage_."

"_Then we should send a ship to make contact immediately_," Romulus concluded.

"_What do you remember of your time being ascended?_" Remus asked, abruptly changing the conversation.

Romulus tilted his head. "_Not a lot. But I know they don't approve of my continual ascensions and subsequent descents._"

"_But they are our progenitors, yes?_"

Romulus nodded. "_That much I know_."

"_Have you ever asked yourself why they didn't protect us from the Wraith?_"

"_I don't know for certain…but they seem to have a great number of rules barring interactions with 'lesser' beings_."

"_Rules that they made _after_ they sent Atlantis to Pegasus…rules they made _after_ they tasked us with the caretaking of the seed species…rules that they made _after_ they ascended and left us to fend for ourselves. They cannot hide behind rules that are their own creation. They chose to abandon us…and when the Wraith came they didn't so much as give us a word of warning. It is their recreated race that we now face. Do not look at them as brothers, Romulus, for they are not. They betrayed us…expect no less from their ilk_."

"_I will not judge them based on the actions of others_," Romulus said firmly. "_Why are you so set against them? If for no other reason you should be grateful for the defeats they are inflicting on the Wraith_."

"_And then what?_" Remus countered. "_The Wraith are nearing defeat, a fact of which I would like to be thrilled…but not when a greater enemy replaces the lesser_."

"_So what do you suggest?_" Romulus asked sarcastically. "_Attack them?_"

"_I don't see how we have any other choice_."

Romulus placed his hands on his hips in a gesture of annoyance. "_Are you sure your full intellect transferred to your new body? Because what you're saying is insane…and while we're on the subject, I thought you had another 10 years before you had to swap out. Not to mention your skin is discolored_."

"_Oh I'm quite sane_," he assured his colleague. "_And some recent improvements prompted me to switch bodies. This new version should last me considerably longer, and I didn't feel like waiting_."

"_And the blue?_"

Remus waved his hand dismissively. "_An inconsequential side effect. I'm more healthy now than I've ever been_."

"_And on a bit of an adrenaline surge I'd figure_," Romulus said, concentrating on Remus's mental state.

"_Perhaps_," Remus admitted. "_But my logic is sound. The Alterra are a threat to us…but as of yet they don't know of our existence. That is a significant advantage we can't afford to squander by making exploratory contact._"

Romulus nodded. "_All things being confirmed, I would agree, but as of now we have nothing more than speculation to work from. That isn't sufficient to start a war over_."

"_Hesitant as always_…"

"_Reckless as always_…"

Remus smiled. "_Perhaps true…but we always seem to balance each other out_."

"_We have to know the truth before we decide on a course of action_."

"_We don't have the time_."

"_Why not? If they don't know of our existence we have all the time we need. Their battles against the Wraith will slow their development, giving us ample opportunity to prepare_."

"_I'm afraid we're going to need more than preparation to combat the Alterra. They know our own technology better than we do…and appear to have advanced portions of it beyond our understanding_."

"_More likely they didn't share everything with us in the beginning_," Romulus speculated.

Remus nodded, conceding the point. "_It's going to take more than we have to contend with them…whether it be in an all out war or an arms race. We go head to head and we'll lose, once they've reestablished an adequate foothold_."

"_I don't follow_," Romulus said, frowning.

"_We need help_," Remus said simply.

"_From who? The few other indigenous races in Pegasus will be of little help…unless you're planning on seeking extra-galactic assistance? In which case we have zero data on who or what is out there_."

"_You're overlooking a powerful potential ally_," Remus said carefully, gauging his counterpart's reaction. "_The Wraith_."

Romulus's eyes widened. "_You are insane_."

"_Consider it…enemy of my enemy is my friend. We obviously could never trust them, but for a time we could pool our resources to combat the Alterra…then deal with the Wraith afterwards_."

"_The Wraith cannot be trusted…furthermore, after what they did to us I will never work with them. We've been planning their extinction for 10,000 years…we're not about to befriend them now_."

"_I was thinking more along the lines of using them_…"

"_No_," Romulus said firmly.

"_Why so absolute? Consider the subject matter before you dismiss it totally_."

"_Those calculations don't take long_," he bit back. "_We are NOT working with the Wraith. I'd take my chances with our own kin over those abominations_."

"_Xenophobia is an unflattering trait_," Remus criticized.

"_So is patricide_."

Remus smiled. "_Interesting word choice. Though technically, that would be the ascended, and I don't believe we have a way of killing them_."

"_Don't get dismissive…allying with the Wraith is not an option, and it worries me that you'd even consider it. It reeks of desperation, yet we find ourselves in the most enviable position since the first Wraith war began, so I don't understand this at all!_"

"_No need to raise your voice_," Remus said dismissively. "_Sometimes one must adapt in order to achieve their purpose. Sacrifices must be made…in this case I would point to your pride_."

"_This is not about pride, Remus. This is about two points. One, our purpose is destroying the Wraith and reclaiming our galaxy. Two, we don't know that the Alterra are a threat, and it is illogical to risk a conflict with an enemy that powerful if it is at all avoidable_."

"_Logical as always…yet without vision_."

"_Vision?_"

"_We have been under the heel of others for too long, I think, and it's affected your outlook_," Remus said, stopping his pacing. "_We will not be masters of our own destiny as long as the Wraith, or the Alterra remain. We cannot reclaim our galaxy if either one of them exist, and the only way to get rid of both is to temporarily ally ourselves with the Wraith_."

"_You're still assuming the Alterra are a threat and the Wraith can be controlled_."

"_They are devious, I'll give you that, but nothing we can't handle if we're cautious_."

"_Cautious! You're talking about picking a fight with arguably the most powerful race ever to exist without even bothering to find out if we have to!_"

"_If we wait, they will be in control of events. We only have a chance if we act first and act swiftly. I will not leave our fate up to chance or the hope that the Alterra will be kinder to us than the Lantean council was. The only reason we didn't end up as prisoners was because they didn't have the gumption to start a war over it. The Alterra are stronger, both in technology and will. We have to do this, and do this now. There is no other option_."

"_There are always options, Remus…but even if there isn't in this case, I'd rather die at Alterran hands than ally myself with the Wraith. That is a line I will NEVER cross_."

Remus sighed. "_I know_."He reached up and activated his earpiece. "_I had hoped I could make you see reason, but I guess I always knew better. It will be difficult without your assistance, but as they say, all good things must eventually end. It's been a fruitful partnership, but we must now part ways_."

Romulus was about to say something when he caught the mental scream of someone elsewhere in the city, quickly followed by others. His telepathic senses started lighting up like fireworks.

"_What have you done?_" he demanded.

"_I've already brokered an arrangement with the Wraith_," Remus said as the door to Romulus's quarters opened in the adjacent room. A few moments later and four armed iktal guards walked into view. "_I'm afraid you and your people are only going to be a detriment from this point on. I am sorry to have things end this way, but we do what we must_."

"_Your new body?_"

Remus smiled. Romulus was ever intelligent. "_Their biotechnology is considerably more advanced than ours_."

"_Is it really worth murdering your own people?_" Romulus asked, feeling the passing of the first of his subordinates spread out across Alba Longa.

"_The body? No…but our eventual domination of this galaxy by our kind is worth the sacrifice_."

A mental command from Remus, through his earpiece, brought the iktal into action. They took aim at Romulus with their powerful hand pistols.

Suddenly they fired…wildly, impacting the ceiling and walls with explosive results, but none of the shots hit Romulus. Remus felt his breath knocked out of his chest as his body impacted the wall behind him and he fell in a heap on the floor.

When he slowly rose up a moment later, he saw his guards also knocked down…and disarmed. The closest iktal crawled a meter and picked up its weapon, then stood and pursued Romulus out the door along with the others.

"_You're more powerful than you let on, my friend_," Remus whispered to the empty room before he stood up and adjusted Romulus's holographic display over to city schematics. He brought up the lifeform tracking program and began issuing additional telepathic orders to his cyborg troops across the city.

* * *

><p>Romulus was running down the corridor out of panic. He hadn't seen Remus's betrayal coming, not even suspected it. The two of them had been like brothers to each other ever since the fall of the Lantean civilization, and had painstakingly rebuilt a portion of it in secret. This unexpected turn of events was shocking…but Romulus knew instantly that it was genuine. Remus had deemed him as an impediment, and he knew well how his former friend dealt with such things. He had to get out of here NOW.<p>

He could feel his people being killed across the city, but it wasn't until he was a ways away from his quarters that he encountered the roaming death squads. He came upon a trio of iktal…genetically created disposable soldiers with a lifespan of 3 years and an intelligence of a rock, but enhanced to dangerous levels through technological upgrades that simultaneously ensured zero individuality and totally control. Romulus knew Remus would have blocked out any controlling signals from Alba Longa, so he wasn't going to be able to take control of the soldiers remotely, nor could he reason with them. They were tools, now totally focused on his destruction. His only chance was evasion and escape…but without an astria porta on the planet that meant his only choice was to grab a ship.

Romulus telekinetically knocked the closest of the iktal off its feet and back into the others, using the distraction to dart down a side hallway, nearly tripping over the body of one of the murdered Alba Longans. Was Remus really going to kill them all, or was he handpicking who he wanted dead?

As he ran on Romulus calculated that if Remus did kill everyone in the city, that would reduce their total population approximately 12 percent. Not a crippling blow, and he figured Remus would consider it more advantageous to eliminate all dissentious elements in exchange for a one time population decrease rather than risk a continual unstable element. He'd also have to weed out some personnel in their other cities…or who knows, maybe he'd already done that? Remus was a precise tactician, and he knew he would never enter into any gambit of this level without thinking it through.

Romulus slowed and ducked into the nearest room, locking the door behind him.

"_Think_," he told himself.

Remus wouldn't have intended on wiping out everyone in the city while allowing escape routes…which meant he would have the ship bays guarded. Romulus considered his odds of fighting his way through the iktal and quickly dismissed the idea. He was already exhausted from the depletion of his Edeva energy and adrenaline enhanced running. Physical activity wasn't his norm, and he was fortunate that he'd been able to react and escape as he had. Fighting his way to a ship wasn't an option, assuming Remus hadn't tampered with the ships to prevent their liftoff anyway. What other options did that leave him?

There was no land on this world, so escape on foot was impossible. The navicula porta were the next best option, but with no hyperdrive there wasn't anywhere he could go…but not getting killed was his first priority. He could figure the rest out later.

The navicula porta bay would probably be guarded as well…but what about the underwater bay? Remus knew the city had outposts on the ocean floor, but now that they were constructed transit was utilized by ring transport, not the navicula portas. Also, it was at the bottom of the city, with the ship docks above. He doubted Remus had brought the iktal here via rings from orbit, so he had probably landed a transport on deck. Maybe they hadn't had time to reach the lower levels yet?

Romulus nodded. He would make for the underwater bay.

He unlocked the door and gently eased his way into the hall. It was clear for the moment, so he took off at a more leisurely jog…one that wouldn't exhaust him further…and headed for the nearest stairwell. He knew better than to try for a transport station.

Seven levels down he heard a series of loud blasts, telltale sounds of the iktal's heavy pistols, which in truth bordered on small cannons in terms of firepower. Their power cells didn't last as long, but they made for quite the fireworks display…plus, they didn't expect the iktal to survive very long anyway when they finally assaulted the Wraith.

Romulus carefully eased ahead, obscuring himself behind several pieces of potted greenery as he moved down the hall towards a cross junction he needed to go down…else backtrack and lose several minutes. He got a partial view of the iktal chewing their way through a locked door as he pressed his back against the wall to stay out of view. If he sprinted quietly he could make the next corner in about 3 seconds. Might be enough to get by, or he might have to use his powers again.

He heard a scream from inside the door…and Romulus realized there were people trapped inside, still alive. He bit down on his lip. He wanted to save them, but there were at least 5 iktal and he was unarmed.

Suddenly the locking portion of the door slid apart, or what was left of it, from the doorjamb and the nearest iktal reached its gnarly fingers into the gap and pulled the door open. Two other iktal ran into the room ahead of it…then suddenly the hallway was clear. Romulus ran forward and around the corner amidst the death screams, real and telepathic, of his people inside the room.

* * *

><p>Twenty two minutes later Romulus was three levels above the underwater bay, in what appeared to be a currently deserted part of the city when he heard distant weapons fire. He cursed his luck and adjusted his route, trying to stay as far away from the noise as possible. He rounded a corner, hearing faint footsteps…<p>

Suddenly he was knocked to the ground as somebody ran square into him. They both hit hard, and Romulus, partially disoriented, caught a glimpse of another person jumping over him. An overhead green blast of energy shook him from his grogginess and he saw a single iktal coming down a nearby stairwell in pursuit. As soon as it saw him it lost interest in the others and adjusted its aim.

Romulus reached down into his Edeva reserves and telekinetically ripped the pistol from its hand…consequently pulling it forward and off balance at the same time. It fell forward, two of its fingers broken from the excessive force used, and face planted on the floor. It looked up at Romulus, snarled, then took a pistol blast straight into the face.

Romulus was breathing heavily, but he managed an even larger sigh of relief. He sat on the floor, wiping fresh sweat from his brow as he looked around and tried to dispel the dizziness creeping in on his senses. He'd used a bit more power than he needed that time, but better safe than sorry.

The man beside him was dead. Shot in the back as he laid on the ground. The second person had disappeared from view. Romulus located her telepathically and reached out to her as he slowly got to his feet. By the time he walked the six steps to the next junction a familiar face appeared.

"_Jina_," he said with relief.

"_Romulus, what's going on?_" she asked, shaking with a mixture of fear and adrenaline.

"_Remus betrayed us_," Romulus said. "_We have to get to the ventral bay_."

"_Remus?_" she asked, out of breath.

"_We have to keep moving_," Romulus said, moving on. Jina followed beside him closely. He proceeded to tell her what had transpired as they made their way to the underwater bay without further incident. Either Remus had overlooked this escape possibility or his troops hadn't gotten here yet, Romulus didn't really care which. All that mattered is that they were in the clear…for the moment.

"_Seal the door_," Romulus said as they entered the control bay.

Jina shut the door and opened a manual panel next to it and physically activated an emergency lock that couldn't be overridden remotely. "_Done_."

Romulus activated the bay door controls and angrily banged his fist on the control panel. Remus had deactivated the barrier shield, which meant the doors wouldn't open with the seawater outside.

"_What's wrong?_" Jina asked, worry evident on her already stricken face.

"_He's onto us_," Romulus said, accessing system programming with a flurry of physical and mental commands. He'd built Alba Longa along with Remus, but most of the programming had been his or his subordinates' jurisdiction. He didn't doubt Remus was familiar with the systems, but he knew he wasn't intimately familiar with them.

Four minutes later Romulus had successfully written a new control program and substituted it for the default. This version would allow door access if the bay was equalized with the outside environment, even without a containment shield…meaning it had to be flooded with seawater.

"_Get into the closest ship and wait for me_," Romulus told her. "_I have to flood the bay manually. Remote control has been blocked_."

She nodded and ran off.

_Wait_, Romulus said telepathically. _Open the closest ship for me, then get into another one and seal it up. That'll keep you safe if I mistime this, and it'll give us more resources to work with_.

_Don't mistime it_, he heard her mental reply.

Romulus shook his head slightly. He'd reduced the intake vents to the minimal flow possible without force field containment…which still meant the bay would be flooded within minutes. He also programmed the outer doors to automatically activate once the bay was fully submerged…however, he had to manually open the vents thanks to Remus's control room overrides. He'd wanted to put it on a timer as well, but that wasn't possible. He'd have to make a run for it.

He stepped over to the inner door and made sure it was fully open, then he pulled off a wall panel and disabled its power. He didn't want it closing on him when the bay began to flood.

Romulus walked back over to the control console and steadied himself.

"_Here goes_," he said, pulling up the control level and running for the door.

His feet hit water two steps out the door, which rose up to his ankles within two seconds. He was 15 meters away from the open aft door of his navicula porta, but became bogged down and had to slug his way to the mount on which the ship sat. He climbed up the back ramp/door just as water began to flow into the ship. He hit the manual close switch, and watched as his feet disappeared under water before the door finally closed…but he was in and still breathing. The water in the ship was irrelevant.

Romulus sloshed his way to the cockpit and took a seat, mentally activating all systems. The viewport was halfway obscured with water already, and a few seconds later the ship was fully submerged. He waited for the bay to fully fill and breathed a sigh of relief when the outer doors finally began to slide open.

"_Romulus?_" Jina's voice sounded over the comm system.

"_Head away from the city as fast as you can, but not towards any of our facilities. We need to make ourselves lost for a while. I'll follow you out_."

Beside him in the bay, one of the two dozen navicula porta eased up and jetted forward out of the bay. Romulus followed quickly and soon the pair were putting dekmas in between themselves and the city…but they weren't free yet.

Romulus's heads up display suddenly tagged two small projectiles launched from the city and closing on them fast.

"_Remus you bastard_," Romulus mumbled as he activated the weapons system. He launched two pesqua on intercept mode, and happily saw the icons merge and disappear.

Six more appeared on sensors.

"_We don't have enough ordinance to hold them off forever_," Jina's voice pointed out.

"_I know_," Romulus said, already ahead of her. "_We need to get past 50 dekmas, then we can activate our cloaking devices. They won't be able to track the anomalies from that far out_."

"_Are you sure?_"

"_Yes_," Romulus said, launching six more pesqua on intercept mode. His inventory showed he had two remaining. "_How many pesqua do you have?_"

"_This ship only has four onboard_," she said apologetically.

Romulus cringed. That was his fault. He should have had them restocked after the brief underwater campaign they'd made against a native Lingalla beast colony that was interfering with mining operations.

Two waves of six pesqua each appeared in sequence on the sensors…then a third…and a fourth…and a fifth.

In retrospect, Romulus realized, they should have headed for the surface instead of further down into the ocean. In the air they could have cloaked and escaped Alba Longa's sensors immediately. Too late for that now.

"_Cut engines and activate your cloak. Your momentum will carry you forward for a while. When you hit bottom, proceed forward on minimal power. I'll contact you later_."

"_What are you going to do?_"

"_Same as you, just a little later. Now, Jina_."

"_Goodluck_," she said as the ship suddenly disappeared off his sensors. Only wisps of current were visible, and those soon disappeared.

Romulus noted the position of the first wave of pesqua, figuring he had about 20 seconds. He was at 46 dekmas away from the city and angled away from Jina slightly. He launched his remaining pesqua then shut down his engines and drifted. His cloak activated as his ship slowly began to sink. Fortunately the ocean depths in this area were shallow enough that hull pressure wasn't going to be an issue…but that also meant Alba Longa's sensors would have an easier time locating them.

His ship's sensors altered into passive mode, but all the pesqua still remained highlighted. His two zoomed back toward the incoming…and passed them by, arcing upwards suddenly. He'd mentally issued their flight plan and targeting coordinates just before he'd cloaked.

The other pesqua continued toward their target's last known coordinates then circled briefly before being recalled to the city. When Romulus's two finally broke into the air they quickly increased speed and reached the city's shields within five seconds.

They passed through the protective barrier and impacted their target…the city's primary sensor control node, buried three levels inside the city's upper superstructure. The glowy missiles had little trouble boring through the hard material and detonated inside the targeted structure. All of Alba Longa's primary sensor arrays, spread across the city in more than 30 locations, fell silent as their input lines were severed and their processing computers were annihilated.

Romulus leaned back and breathed a sigh of relief. The pesqua remote control capabilities were linked to those sensors, and the city didn't have a backup system. They could fire line of sight with an 'attack this target' protocol, but they would have no remote control of the missiles once launched…and there was no way for the city to track the underwater navicula porta past 25-30 dekmas on secondary sensor arrays.

Still, Romulus didn't want to take any chances, so he let his ship drift forward until he hit bottom, then activated his engines at minimal power and slowly moved further away from the city. A few hours later he contacted Jina and they rendezvoused along a small underwater ridge, where they grounded out, linked shields, and had a face to face meeting and grieving session. They were probably the only survivors from Alba Longa, with no hyperspace capability, limited supplies, and their former brethren intent on killing them.

Neither of them knew what to do at the moment, but they were still alive and that's what mattered the most.


	4. Chapter 4

Matt came out of the stargate beneath a small protective shield that encompassed the surrounding processing center. Off in the distance he could see two of Leesat's cities with their shields raised as well. Much larger than Atlantis, and immobile, these cities stretched out across the horizon and their shields appeared as a flat top gently dipping until they reached a low barrier ring that outlined the edges of each metropolis. With their shields raised, the surface entrances would also be closed and covered and the ring transports would be inoperable.

Off to the left was a small, two story structure. Matt ran to it immediately and went inside. Below ground, there was an emergency transit line that would connect to the nearest city beneath the raised shields. Basically a segmented tunnel, the transit line contained a number of powered cargo/personnel sleds. Matt grabbed the nearest one and moved it into one of the upper routes…then took off at maximum speed.

* * *

><p>Daniel watched from the control room as more and more ships emerged from hyperspace, a mixture of Wraith and RomulusRemus ships…odd, Janus had never given a proper name for their civilization. But whatever they were called, they were showing up en mass, apparently now working with the Wraith, which Daniel found terrifying and curious at the same time. Janus had told them that Romulus and Remus's sole purpose was to destroy the Wraith…maybe this was just another deviation between realities.

"_They're coming within range_," Leesa noted casually.

Daniel nodded. "_Open fire_."

* * *

><p>In geosynchronous orbit above the inhabited slice of Leesat, 18 defense satellites floated silently, their dark, armored hulls barely visible against the starlit background until their red running lights activated, slightly distorted by a marginally opaque shield covering each spherical device with what looked like a clear crystal shell. Each satellite was larger than a Jaffa H'tel, but had no internal living space, no hangar bays, no hyperdrive, and no ordinance. Each was a densely packed, armored weapon run off two Kieron-induction reactors, augmented by an empty potentia that was gradually being charged with excess energy from the reactors. At present, the satellites' potentia held charges of 3-5%, which gave them a significant energy flow above and beyond what the reactors could yield at any one moment.<p>

The defense satellites were known as _Boa_, and were a slightly modified version of an old Alterran design. The spherical shape had replaced a more exotic elliptical design in an effort maximize shield volume/surface area strength ratios. As per original design specs, the Boa had two weapons platforms…one for distance, one for point defense. Now that the enemy was closing in from extreme distance, the extended range Joktala began their final power up as they accepted targeting data from Leesat's control staff.

The first of the purple/yellow cutting beams fired against a Wraith battleship at the head of the approaching ships. It punctured the ship square on, cut through it lengthwise, and exited slightly offcenter aft, with the remaining energy clipping and destroying two cruisers behind it. Other Joktala beams fired as the first Boa cycled through a 12 second recharge.

Ship after ship after ship was cut down in remarkably little time as the huge enemy fleet closed on the satellites and began to split. One section continued straight at the defense platforms, the other appeared to be heading down towards the surface. Before either could close on the widely spaced Boa formation, a third group of ships emerged from hyperspace in a precisely controlled jump directly behind the Boa. They were all Romulus/Remus ships, three size variants and numbering 206 ships. They opened fired on the nearest Boa while simultaneously launching fighters.

The Boa's shields held firm while its point defense weapons activated automatically. Small plasma balls, glowing white hot, sprouted on the surface of the Boa, held there for a brief moment, then launched with amazing speed like tiny drops of water at the alien ships. Soon the entire Boa was 'raining' on the enemy…for all of 42 seconds. By that time its shields were depleted and even with the potentia's power flow, its recharge rate couldn't match the drain. The armored surfaced held off the onslaught for several more valuable moments, allowing even more return fire to damage and destroy a few of the well shielded ships before the Boa finally cracked under the strain of internal explosions.

The sphere broke apart into 3 large pieces, of which the attacking ships reduced even further. They left a small debris field in their wake and swarmed toward the next Boa.

A Joktala lance cut through one of the ships at short range, briefly being held at bay by its shields. Several more Boa redirected their attacks at the ambushing ships, but by then the mass of the approaching fleet was upon them and the endless Wraith hoard opened fire.

* * *

><p>Daniel watched as the defense satellites were smothered in ships…but they weren't destroyed immediately. It took several bloody minutes to take them all out, in which massive retaliatory damage was inflicted. But in the end, the Boa were eliminated, and the attacking fleet moved on towards the planet.<p>

"_What are they doing?_" Daniel asked as he heard fast footsteps off to his right. Matt leapt up the stairs a few seconds later.

Leesa answered his question when none of the control staff did. "_They appear_ _to be circling around to the far side of the planet,_" she said, indicating the splinter fleet that hadn't targeted the Boa formation and headed towards the surface of the planet.

"_They're going to land outside weapons range_," Matt said, quickly studying the situation. "_They know we have ground batteries, so they're going to mount a surface attack._"

"_We're prepared for that, right?_" Daniel asked.

"_The city shields extend to the ground, but most of our weapons won't depress to that angle. If they come in on foot, they'll be out of range, for the most part, but they still have to get through our shields_."

"_Can they? On foot I mean?_"

Matt inclined his head. "_Depends what they brought with them_," he answered, looking at Daniel. "_Leesa, activate all replicator security forces and deploy them to cover surface entrances, key systems, and action-response points of your choosing_."

Leesa's hologram blinked. "_Done_."

Daniel cleared his throat. "_If they're going to ground…then what are they up to?_" he said, pointing to the larger fleet that was still approaching the planet.

"_I don't know_."

Daniel blinked. "_That's reassuring_."

Matt stared at the tactical holo for another moment then abruptly walked off the control platform and into an adjacent room.

"_Where's he going?_" one of the staff asked. Everyone in the room had become more at ease as soon as the Alterran had arrived.

"_Chair room_," Daniel guessed. "_How long until they're within weapons range?_"

Leesa updated the hologram with a countdown clock. "_Not long_."

"_Sound general quarters_," Daniel ordered. "_We need to get the civilian population contained before they start to panic. Have our flesh and blood security forces round up any stragglers. Leesa, when they get to where they need to be, make a general announcement, tell them what's going on and what they need to do and not do. Then implement a civilian lockdown in those areas_."

"_Don't worry_," Leesa said patronizingly, "_I'll get them buttoned up_."

"_Joktala powering up_," one of the staffers reported, his hands raised in the air as to say it wasn't his doing.

"_I have control_," Matt's voice answered him, relayed through the comm. "_Take control of secondary weapon systems._"

On the hologram, the enemy formation slowed above the atmosphere. Soon Daniel heard the first shield impacts overhead. It was a few sporadic hits at first, but it quickly turned into a downpour of weapons fire. He was tempted to find the nearest window and look outside, but he was in command and in all honesty it wouldn't matter how it looked if the shields didn't hold up.

"_How are we doing?_" he asked slowly.

A large vibration was felt as a nearby Joktala fired. On the diagram, four enemy ship icons vanished. Several more, smaller and non-existent vibrations followed. All three cities were equipped with weapons, but only those in city 2 were physically detectible to the control room.

"_That was loud_," he commented, just before the nearby Joktala fired again.

"_Shield strength is stable, but secondary power conduits had to be activated to accommodate the necessary power flow, and we're running 2% behind_," a calm staffer reported from the shield control station. "_Given enough time, they'll penetrate our shields_."

"_How much time?_"

The staffer glanced at Leesa's hologram.

"_Uncertain, given the continual elimination of enemy ships. However, at current rates, potentia reserves will last less than an hour, at which time we'll have to rely only on city generators_."

"_That's bad_," Daniel commented. "_But our reinforcements should be here before then, right?_"

Leesa altered the hologram and one corner of it switched to a deep space tracking diagram. Twelve icons were currently approaching the planet via hyperspace travel, the closest of which was only minutes away.

"_Yes_."

The nearby Joktala fired again, numbing Daniel's ears.

On the hologram more and more blips winked out, all the while a mass of tiny dots, looking like a large angry cloud met up with the surface and spread out. They were the fighters, both Wraith and Romulus/Remus in origin. They kept clear of the heavy fire conduit between city shields and orbiting fleets, but stayed nearby, circling about. Small point defense weapons within the cities activated and started swatting some of them from the sky, but there were so many it seemed to make little difference. However, after their initial losses, the fighters retreated over the horizon, behind several nearby ridges and out of the line of fire. They stayed there, circling about in multiple locations.

"_Intruder alert_," Leesa announced suddenly. "_Multiple locations_."

"_Where?_" Daniel asked, taken aback.

"_Ring rooms 3,5,7,8, and 10…now 2 as well_."

"_Confirmed_," one of the staffers said. "_How are they getting past our shields?_"

Daniel's mind flashed back to the Sam's planned assault on Atlantis. "_Their weapons fire. It's altering the shield frequency. Lock out the rings._"

"_Ring rooms 1,6, and 12 deactivated…but we've lost remote control of the others_."

"_Leesa?_" Daniel asked.

"I'm not designed to override user input," she apologized. "_You must override the localized commands before they can manually cut off the network link. They've just done so on room 5_."

"_Come on guys_," Daniel prompted.

"_I'm not sure how to do that_," one of the staffers complained as he sifted through control functions.

"_Matt?_" Daniel asked into the air. "_We could use some help_."

Leesa captured Daniel's question and sent it as a message to Matt in the adjacent chamber. Daniel didn't realize there wasn't an open comlink.

Suddenly the weapons fire coming from the city fell silent, and the only noise was a consistent rumble from shield impacts above.

A moment later ring room icons began winking out…but not all of them.

"_Hard lines have been cut on the others_," Matt's voice said. "_You have to manually lock them down on site. Get the replicators down there, along with any troops the incoming ships have onboard_."

Matt's voice cut off, then the Joktala began firing again. Daniel winced against the noise.

"_How many rooms are still active?_"

The hologram tagged 5 sites. Three within city 1, and two within city 2. City 3 and the partially constructed city 4 had been locked down remotely, but both locations still had enemy troops inside.

"_Redeploy the replicators to those sites_," Daniel told Leesa. "_The longer they're up the more troops we'll have to deal with_."

"_What about the other incursion sites?_" she asked, already starting to redeploy the swiftly moving replicator guards.

Daniel caught himself. "_Send some to keep them tied up, but the active rings are the top priority._"

One of the staffers turned in her seat. "_What about our security forces?_"

"_Get me the senior officer_," Daniel said, stepping over to a nearby terminal.

"_Brand here_," a brusque voice answered.

"_This is Daniel Jackson. The enemy has managed to penetrate our shields using the rings and deposit troops within the city. We've locked out as many ring rooms as we can, but some are still active. We've dispatched the replicators to deal with the intruders, but there's no telling how that's going to go_."

"_Which ring rooms are still active?_" Brand asked, all business.

Daniel glanced at the hologram. "_Three, four, five…eight and ten_."

"_We're on it, sir. Brand out_."

Daniel frowned. "_Okay_."

"_Wraith ships are landing on the planet_," a staffer announced.

"_Fifteen locations_," Leesa amended. "_All obscured by topography, eliminating line of sight weapons as a means of defense._"

"_Pesqua_," Daniel suggested.

"_Primary weapons are currently under chair room control_," another staffer informed.

"Ahhh…" Daniel said with frustration. "_They'll keep for now. What about the civilians within the city. Are they safe?_"

"_Enemy troops have not yet reached residential areas and safe zones_," Leesa said calmly.

"_Can you initiate a full lockdown in those areas to isolate them?_"

"_Yes, but it will interfere with the movement of our own troops_."

"_We can pick and choose_," a staffer suggested. "_Lock down certain doors and corridors_."

"_Get on it_," Daniel said, looking at the long range holo. The first of their reinforcements was almost here.

* * *

><p>Sheppard watched it all from the bridge of the <em>Skywalker<em> as his task force bore through hyperspace at maximum speed. They'd been harassing a nearby Wraith stronghold with hit and fade attacks when the recall order had come. He had a fleet of 78 cruisers, 126 corvettes, 14 battleships, and two dreadnaughts at his disposal, as well as more support ships sent his way from other commands…all unmanned and remotely controlled from his Columnar. He also had cargo sleds full of deactivated replicator troops in his cargo holds, along with hundreds of combat drones and 237 flesh and blood troops, heavily armored and standing by for deployment.

That said, he still didn't like the odds.

The enemy forces had deployed over 7,000 ships in the assault, and even as the planetary defenses were quickly reducing that number, attrition was going to take its effect. He was surprised the city shields were holding up against the onslaught the enemy was throwing down at them. Had it been a Columnar's shields, they would have collapsed inside of 20 seconds. Luckily the Alterran designer had beefed up the surface defenses beyond all reasonable expectations…they had Jake to thank for that, if Sheppard recalled correctly, but with the shields penetrated and troops already inside the city the enemy suddenly had the advantage. In fact, Sheppard didn't know why the orbital bombardment was continuing.

So it was without great surprise that when his fleet emerged from hyperspace into high orbit around Leesat, the enemy fleet disbanded and retreated outside of weapons range of both the city and Sheppard's forces.

"_That's right, run!_" Sheppard said from his bridge control chair. "_You've already done your damage. Now it's a ground game._"

The holographic image of Luke Skywalker pointed to the main holographic display at the head of the bridge. "_A lot of those ships are heading to ground_."

"_To ground? That'll just make them target practice_," Lorne said from a secondary control chair. Currently there were 14 bridge staff seated in control chairs ready to remotely control their fleet.

"_Yeah, it would normally_," Sheppard commented. "_But I have a feeling they're not going to be that stupid today, plus the Wraith have the Uglies with them, so watch out for surprises_."

"_Yeah, when did that happen again?_" Lorne commented.

"_Good question, but first things first. We need to transport our troops inside the city_," Sheppard said, mentally flying the ship, accessing the internal comms system to send a 'ready' order to his troops, studying the sensor telemetry and confirming that the city shields were back to normal, and opening a channel to the planet.

"_Daniel, we need you to readjust your shields to allow ring transport_."

"_Gladly_," Daniel responded, relief in his voice. "_Thanks for scaring them off_."

"_This isn't over by a long shot, Jackson_," Sheppard warned.

As if on cue, energy shields started popping up over the now 27 locations of grounded enemy ships.

"_I had no idea they could do that_," Daniel commented.

"_Like I was saying, they're here to play hard ball_," Sheppard emphasized, equally surprised. The Wraith didn't have that type of shield technology as far as he knew. What they did have they only used sparingly, never to protect a ship, let alone hundreds of them on the surface. The shield strength levels were surprisingly high, and soon the ship's computer backtracked the source.

Inside the grounded ship formation several towers were being erected. The surface defense shield was being generated from those towers…and the more of them that came online, the stronger the shield was becoming.

"_Oh_," Sheppard whispered. "_This is not good_."


	5. Chapter 5

Seven hours into the battle things took a turn for the worse. Sheppard's growing fleet, bolstered by continually arriving reinforcements, had succeeded in destroying 8 of the shielded ground bases, thanks to the primary weapons on the now 4 Columnars in orbit. While they were busy taking out those bases, the remaining enemy fleet in orbit around the far side of the planet reengaged in battle, but instead of targeting the cities they went directly for Sheppard's ships.

It was a long, hard fight, but the superior firepower of Alterran technology eventually won out, though both sides suffered heavy losses. Sheppard's remote controlled fleet had been reduced to 28% by the time the last of the Wraith ships were destroyed and the few remaining Romulus/Remus survivors headed to ground and took shelter beneath the surface shields. All 3 Columnars had survived intact, with a fourth arriving only a few minutes ago, but it was too late.

* * *

><p>Inside the control center located in the heart of city 2, Daniel sat in a chair watching events unfold as they tracked several hundred ground troops slowly moving out from the enemy surface beachheads and making their way towards the cities on foot agonizingly slow. Not that the troops themselves were moving slow, but given the distances involved it was going to take them several more hours to reach the nearest city, and even then they still had the shield to contend with. Daniel didn't know what they had planned, but he felt uneasy. Matt or the orbiting fleet could target those troops at will, but they still kept coming. So far the Alterrans hadn't chose to fire, which in Matt's case would be to use the city's supply of pesqua to overcome the angular fire issues of the cities' primary weapons.<p>

Maybe they weren't in a rush to kill them, or maybe the recent battle had taken its toll and they were reorganizing or something, but this lull in activity as the Wraith moved closer in what looked to be a futile attack just struck Daniel as wrong. The Wraith had no chance, so what were they doing?

Leesa's hologram, which had been absent for some time, suddenly reappeared along with a proximity alarm. "_Oh you're not going to like this_," she said, looking directly at Daniel.

He stood. "_What is it?_"

The hologram of the planet zoomed in on the four cities, then depressed enough to show the subsurface sections. Several incoming lines were highlighted. To Daniel's eyes the lines were slowly extending and he suddenly realized what the Wraith were up to.

"_They're digging_," he said out loud. "_Why didn't you detect this sooner?_" he asked, noting how close the Wraith already were.

As Leesa began to answer, a stream of pesqua launched from the city, arching up and coming back down on the ground and boring into it.

"_The enemy appears to be using some type of masking device to fool our sensors_," Leesa explained. "_A moment ago the seismic sensors detected a minor quake and I ran a detailed sensor scan and discovered a number of anomalies. As it is, we have no idea what they have in these tunnels_."

"_I think we're about to find out_," Daniel said as the pesqua on the tactical display moved underground and closed in on five of the nearest tunnels. When the first of them breached a line, new sensor data was updated, then the pesqua winked out. Leesa zoomed in on one of the contact points and showed a split second of visual record of the interior filled with ground troops.

Daniel frowned as the other pesqua all winked out upon reaching the lines. "_Are they exploding or something?_"

"_No_," Leesa said icily. "_Control telemetry is being scattered once they're inside the tunnels, probably the same masking agent that's blocking sensors_."

"_So what happened to them?_"

"_There's no way to tell for sure, but they probably deactivated the moment we lost contact, unless Matt had issued them subsequent orders_."

Suddenly more pesqua shot up from the city and arced down into the ground again, some following the same paths down as the first ones.

"_Looks like he was thinking the same thing_," Daniel commented as he noticed several lines nearing city 2. "How long," he asked, pointing at the hologram.

"_Four minutes, 32 seconds at present rate_."

"_Can they get through underneath?_"

"_It will take time to cut through the superstructure_," Leesa informed, "_but there are no energy shields in place to prevent it._"

"_Can you predict the points of entry?_" Daniel asked as the second wave of pesqua intersected the lines. Additional telemetry updates were made upon entry, but nothing more than that was visible until, moments later, one of the lines nearing the city stopped advancing.

Apparently Matt noticed it too, because ten times the number of pesqua previously launched leapt into the sky and rained down on the ground around the cities.

Daniel watched eagerly as the nearing lines were stopped, one by one…but then first line that had been hit started to grow again.

"_Damn it_," he whispered. "_We need to get troops to the entry points_."

One of the staffers, already showing the early signs of exhaustion, turned to face him. "_We don't have any to spare. They're still tied up fighting on the lower levels._"

"_Not entirely true_," Leesa amended. "_City 4 is now secure. The troops there are currently enroute to reinforce other campaigns. We can divert them to the breach points, but I doubt they will arrive in time_."

Suddenly a hologram of a standing Sheppard appeared next to Leesa. "_Daniel, we need you to drop the shields over city 1 so we can start beaming up the civilians._"

Daniel's eyes widened. "_Evacuate?_"

"_Oh we're not going anywhere, but it's going to start getting messy real fast as soon as those tunnels reach the cities. Be prepared to raise the shields again on a moment's notice. Not quite sure how the enemy will respond_."

"_Alright, give me a second to make an announcement_."

"_Hurry_," Sheppard's hologram said before winking out.

"_Give me citywide_," Daniel asked.

"_All cities?_" a staffer asked.

"_Umm…yes, all cities_," Daniel stead, collecting his thoughts. The staffer gave him a nod. "_Attention please…this is Daniel Jackson. As you probably already know, the planet is currently under attack by the Wraith…and others. Our fleet in orbit has succeeding in destroying the enemy up there, but the enemy on the ground is currently tunneling under our defenses and will breach the city limits soon. As a precaution, we are going to start evacuating the civilian population out of harm's way before the heavy fighting begins. Stay where you are for now, we'll be beaming you out shortly. Thank you_."

* * *

><p>Zoe heard Daniel's warning, and admittedly a streak of fear shot through her, but she didn't move from her chair in her quarters. She'd figured out hours ago that they were under attack, when she'd asked the computer what the loud vibrating noises were. Ever since then she'd been watching a holographic representation of the battle, thanks to Leesa, and her eyes were still glued to it, though right now it only showed their victorious fleet stationed far overhead in space.<p>

"What did they mean by underground?" Zoe asked into the air. Leesa's voice answered her and updated her map with the subsurface tunnels.

"Are they going to be able to stop them?" she asked with a determined look on her face.

"I don't know," Leesa's voice answered.

Zoe stared at the map as the first of the lines connected with the city and was marked with a flashing icon. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Perhaps someday," Leesa answered kindly, "but for now you need to stay put."

Suddenly the shields on the hologram of city 1 dropped, and outside Zoe's window the shimmer covering the city disappeared…a moment later lots of small dots swarming around the enemy landing zones began swarming towards the city.

"What is tha…" Zoe began to ask as she suddenly disappeared from her quarters.

* * *

><p>Sitting in the control chair, Matt brought the city's neutron beam point defense batteries online and began readying himself to control the 238 weapons simultaneously and knock down as many enemy fighters as he could when they finally closed within range. On his chair interface link, his mental image of the city showed a scattering of lifeforms blips disappearing as the four Columnars in orbit began beaming people out.<p>

"_Sheppard_," he said, opening up a comlink with a mere thought, "_as long as we have the shields down, how about you beam the enemy out of the city._"

Sheppard's face blanked for a moment. "_Why didn't I think of that_," he said, mentally kicking himself. He mentally took control of two beaming arrays away from his crew and targeted the ongoing brawl between the replicators, Lanteans, and 'uglies' at the heart of city 1. He tagged four of the uglies and plucked them out…then deposited them outside the city. He could have beamed them directly into space, but explosive decompression was a bit nasty for Alterran tastes. So instead, he simply targeted their position on the planet with one of the ship's plasma cannons from range and fired a single, large blast.

Coming from orbit, it didn't hit exactly on target, but the blast range was large enough that the four little dots winked out as expected.

"_This could definitely work_," Sheppard said approvingly as the city defenses lit up as the thousands of enemy fighters approached the perimeter.

"_Ah crap_," Sheppard said, tagging four more uglies inside the city.

* * *

><p>Below the outskirts of the city 2, the Wraith tunneling machines chewed away at the bedrock like a swarm of angry bees. There were hundreds of small diggers, each about the size of a puddle jumper, blasting pieces of rock and carrying them back down the tunnel to a quartet of Lantean hoversleds. They fed the rock into large bins, where the raw material was broken down and reused to create support beams and wall tiles. Small, automated floating drones assembled the support girders and attached the tiles as the whole procession slowly, but continually, progressed forward.<p>

The tunnel was nearly 100 meters wide, but only 55 meters high, giving it a flat, rectangular shape with edged corners. Back behind the digging and construction machines, a hoard of iktal and Wraith warriors walked in separate packs. Both were taller than human norms, with the Wraith a few centimeters higher and massing almost twice that of the iktal. While the Wraith soldiers and attendants had been dispatched overland as a distraction, the larger, bald Wraith warriors were patiently waiting until they could be delivered directly into the city.

At the tunnel head, looking like bioluminescent clawed worms, the diggers shifted slightly, revealed a piece of a much larger Wraith machine hidden amongst the hoard. The large crab-like device became half visible as the tunnel direction altered and began to climb up towards the belly of the Alterran city. A bit of a second crab also became visible for a few seconds, then the diggers obscured it again as the mass righted itself and began its normal linear path.

Not long after, the digger hoard came to an almost standstill, buzzing about frantically as the crab-like machines attempted to break through the hard superstructure of the city. Its material was much denser than the rock they'd been boring through, but once the crabs melted through a few key points, they were able to get enough leverage to begin tearing small pieces away, which the diggers then cut down and passed back to the processing machines. It was slow going, but eventually they broke through, coming up inside a small room in the lowest level of one of the cities' understructure.

As soon as the crab pulled back its large arm from the man-sized hole it'd made in the floor, weapons fire came down upon it. It did little to hurt the large, living machine, and soon the floor around the small hole burst upward and the crab pushed its head and arm through, sweeping aside debris and widening the hole, knocking back two replicator guards.

Seeing their sidearms were ineffective, four of the guards tossed their weapons to the others then ran and jumped at the crab, disintegrating into dust and attacking it on a microscopic level. The machine reared back, obviously in pain or distress, but it kept clawing away at the room, breaking through two walls and the ceiling, opening up a larger, almost spherical empty space and sweeping aside the debris into large piles, making it hard for the other replicators to get clear shots with their double-wielded weapons.

Soon the diggers had enough room to pass through, and began chewing away at some of the debris while the ailing crab busted out more walls as it opened up the foothold into the city. More and more diggers came through, with the replicators helpless to stop them. Only two diggers were disabled by continuous weapons fire before the second crab burst through. With its help, the tunnel entrance was clear within minutes and the first of the iktal pushed ahead of the construction sleds and diggers and moved against the replicator lines.

Their heavy pistols damaged the replicators with each hit, required approximately 5 or so shots before the replicators became permanently disabled, with the remainder of their components falling to the ground as dust. Given their programming, the other replicators couldn't assimilate the surviving nanites into their own structure. Each replicator was an individual, for security reasons, and once enough of its processing power was destroyed, the rest of its 'body' became inert.

After a few minutes, and many iktal casualties, the small force of replicators dispatched to the breach site was overrun and the enemy had their first foothold within city 2, with the other tunnels not far behind.

* * *

><p>Sheppard watched from the bridge of the <em>Skywalker<em> as multiple breach points were formed within the 4 cities and waves of Wraith and uglies poured into the lower levels. He tried to use the Columnar's beams to pluck them out, but there were now dead zones around the breach points in which the beams wouldn't work. No doubt the Wraith had brought along some jamming devices, which were now extending further out into the cities. Soon his beams wouldn't function at all…and they still had half of the civilians left to evacuate.

Frustrated, Sheppard continued to pluck out uglies from the unjammed sections of the city, enough anyway for those battles to be brought to a swift climax. The replicator and Lantean troops in those areas were then free to reengage in other areas…but should they? They were quickly losing control of city 1, and they hadn't even begun to evacuate city 2 or 3. City 4 was mostly uninhabited at the moment, but there were still some people there. Only city 1's shield had been lowered and evacuation begun, given that it had the highest current population…and right now the Wraith and ugly fighters were tearing the crap out of the city towers even as Matt gradually diminished their numbers with the city's point defense weapons and the Columnars added some of their pesqua to the defensive effort.

Sheppard wasn't liking the situation at all…then suddenly he decided to take a minute and mentally step back from the situation. He took in all elements, studying each breach point, the number of troops pouring in, his own defensive forces within the cities, his fleet in orbit, the Wraith ships on the ground, and the pathetic Wraith soldiers crossing by foot toward the cities.

He rechecked his mental calculations and available options three times before finally giving the order.

"_Fully evacuate city 1_," he said, contacting the surface and the other Columnars simultaneously. "_It's lost. Use the rings and transporters to redeploy our troops to city 2. That's our last line of defense_."

An hour later, with half of city 1 under Wraith control, it's point defense systems 90% destroyed, and still a swarm of enemy fighters moving about overhead, picking off the remaining defenses and key systems, the last of the survivors were ringed out and up to the orbiting Columnars, which in the meantime had eliminated another two Wraith ground bases. The _Skywalker_ had held back, storing up power in its primary weapon for another task.

As of now, city 1 was completely under the shroud of Wraith beaming generators, and portions of cities 2, 3, and 4 were equally dark to their primary evacuation tool. Sheppard was just glad they'd managed to evacuate city 1 in time.

He checked to make sure the other 3 cities' shields were still up, then he took helm control of the _Skywalker_ and tilted her nose to ground as he reconfigured the primary weapon's fire control from shield piercing to orbital bombardment.

There was too much energy in the weapon's capacitor to release in one blast, so instead 6 massive green orbs of destructive energy fired down from the Columnar, each spaced about 1 second apart and fired at slightly different coordinates.

The Wraith and ugly fighters never saw the attack coming, nor did Sheppard think the enemy had even anticipated them using this tactic. The first of the primary weapon blasts from the Columnar slammed into the center of the unshielded city 1, vaporizing the central towers and creating a shockwave that spread out, causing additional destruction. The blast power far exceeded any nuke Earth had ever created, but the effect looked the same to Sheppard's eyes.

Before the blast wave could grow past infancy, the second blast hit, slightly to the south in the city, then the next towards the east, then northeast, northwest, and finally west. The combined destructive power leveled every tower in the city, as well as devastating the connective superstructure below ground. Only scattered bits of subsurface levels survived intact, a few rooms here and there. The rest of the city simply disappeared beneath turbulent debris clouds, rolling about obscuring the damage beneath…but Sheppard could see it all on sensors.

As for the enemy fighters…those not hit directly by the orbital attack were destroyed in the subsequent blast waves. All the swarming dots disappeared from the tactical holo.

About 20 minutes after the destruction of city 1, reinforcements arrived through the stargate. The small shielded outpost at the gate was situated some distance from the cities, out in the open on a large plain. The enemy hadn't made a serious play to capture it, and the few ground troops they'd sent in that direction had easily been killed from orbital bombardment. So underneath a small, secure shield a swarm of replicators shot out from the stargate at a run, with several dozen coming through each second.

Sheppard linked them up to the battle network immediately and dispatched them toward city 2 on foot. It would take over an hour for them to reach the combat zone had they been Lantean troops, but with their enhanced speed the replicators would be there within minutes.

On the display screens, the small dark line of replicators suddenly shot forward as they increased their foot speed to maximum. The ant-like troops followed an identical path, meandering across the terrain in a more or less straight line towards city 2. All in all, over 4,000 had been dispatched from their production facility on Hoth.

When the troops approached the edge of the city, the outer shields were lowered over the surface entrances and the replicators poured into the city. It took some time for them to meet up with the enemy troops, but when they did, they immediately began to push them back while suffering significant losses. Combined with the uglies' heavy pistols, the Wraith warriors were equipped with disruption rifles that had been specifically designed to combat the replicators. Each time a replicator was hit, its outer layers fell off it like dust, much as the effect of the anti-replicator technology designed by O'Neill in years past, yet not as powerful. It could only affect a few centimeters deep, thus it took several shots to kill one of the replicators…plus, the Wraith warriors were so physically strong that in hand to hand combat they had the advantage one on one. Given blows of sufficient force, the replicators would shatter…then reform a few moments later.

Though the battle was not as lopsided as one would have expected, the replicator troops were now pushing the enemy lines back, even as they were continually being reinforced by more troops coming up out of the tunnels. It gave the Alterran/Lantean forces some breathing room and, more importantly, time to maneuver.

The other two cities, however, were nearly lost. The troops in those areas had been redeployed into defensive counter attack units, harassing the enemy whenever and wherever possible, but no longer able to hold them at bay. The civilians within city 3 had been moved into the emergency tunnels and were crossing over to city 2 until they got far enough away, between cities, to exit the jamming shroud being produced by the Wraith. When they reached the clear zone, the Columnars continued to beam them aboard.

* * *

><p>Half an hour later, 22 support ships arrived in orbit, 16 cruisers and 6 corvettes. Sheppard assumed command of them and added them to his Columnar's task force. More small groups of reinforcements were on the way, and though Sheppard was glad to have them they would do little good when the battles were taking place on the ground. At present, there were still a lot more ground bases that had to be taken out, but only the Columnars' primary weapons were powerful enough to penetrate their shields…and it was taking 1.5 shots, fired simultaneously to get through. After which time the Columnars would have to recharge their capacitors, not to mention fight and destroy the grounded ships, which would then take off and either engage them or flee to the outskirts of the system.<p>

Sheppard had refrained from chasing them down. The Columnars were needed to evacuate the civilians, and he didn't feel like sending the support ships off on their own, even under remote control. He wanted them kept close to the threat at hand…and a few wayward ships they could easily destroy later didn't count in his mind.

Right now city 3 and city 4 were his main focus. Give the enemy enough time inside, and they could probably cause trouble. What exactly Sheppard wasn't sure, but he couldn't let them stay there forever. They still possessed remote control of those cities' weaponry, but it wasn't entirely impossible that the enemy could physically assume control given enough opportunity. The last thing Sheppard wanted to see right now was a Joktala beam coming at his ship.

Sheppard was about to give the order to drop the shields on city 3 and 4 so that he could start pinpoint bombardment of the cities' weapons in order to take them out of the equation when more ships showed up on the _Skywalker_'s hyperspace sensors. They were still several minutes away, but they weren't friendlies…and there were a lot of them.

"_Oh crap…this day just keeps getting worse and worse_," Sheppard said, thinking fast and hard. "_Everybody listen up_," he said, transmitting to all commands. "_We've got incoming enemy reinforcements…too many to hold off. We've got a few minutes before they arrive, and I'm ordering a complete withdraw from the planet. We need to evacuate ALL the civilians, living troops, and replicators, in that order. Utilize the rings, jumpers, transports, and stargate. We'll delay the enemy as long as necessary up here. Now get moving_."

Sheppard walked over to his captain's control chair and slid in. Suddenly a flurry of orders were issued to his crew and the other 3 Columnars. Moments later the entire combined fleet began to redeploy.

Lorne received a separate order via the chair system and suddenly stood up and ran down the length of the bridge and into the transporter. The doors closed and he was off on the most important mission of all that Sheppard had just assigned him.

* * *

><p>Lorne made his way through the massive Columnar utilizing internal transporters and a lot of running down long corridors. Eventually he came to one of 36 armories in the ship and keyed the doors open with a mental command code. He walked inside and activated several replicator cubes sitting in wall niches.<p>

"_Come with me_," Lorne ordered the human form replicators when they had fully formed.

The tan-clad armory 'crew' did as bidden and Lorne wound his way through the racks of equipment and up a stairwell before he found what he needed. There were several large containers, half again as tall as him…the Alterran version of nukes.

"_Get these three_," he said, pointing to the ones he wanted, "_to the nearest ring room ASAP_."

With a command from the partially evacuated control room in city 2, the shields over city 4 adjusted to accept ring transports again…they'd had to continually adjust them on and off because the grounded ugly ships kept trying to ring more of their own troops in, and had succeeded in a few circumstances. Lorne ringed in along with one of the K.I.T.A. tactical weapons…a level 4 Kieron Iori Transfer Accelerator. They went up to level 10, but Sheppard had been very specific about the yield level.

Lorne shoved the hover sled carrying the crate-like square device off the ring platform and set it against a nearby wall. There weren't supposed to be enemy troops in the area, but he still didn't feel like sticking around too long. He pulled open an access panel and armed the weapon. He synchronized the countdown with a handheld device that was already active and reading the ancient equivalent of 15 minutes and 32 seconds.

Lorne also activated the remote detonation protocol, allowing the KITA to be activated from orbit if necessary. He replaced the panel and quickly ringed back up to the _Skywalker_, which was already opening fire on the approaching Wraith/Ugly fleet that now numbered over 2,000 with more ships continuing to exit hyperspace.

He took the second KITA down into city 3, set it, and came back to get the third when Sheppard intercepted him.

"_Get up to the bridge, I'll take it from here_."

"_Sir?_" Lorne asked, skeptically. They were in the middle of a space battle, and Sheppard was the only Alterran onboard. He was needed in the primary control chair.

"_City 2 isn't evacuated yet_," Sheppard said, shoving the hoversled into position on the ring platform. "_I'm making sure everyone gets out before we set this baby off_."

"_Aye, sir_," Lorne said, nodding and running off to find the nearest transporter. "_Good luck_," he yelled back.

"_Thanks_," Sheppard whispered, mentally activating the rings. They deposited him and the KITA in ring room 4, the closest to the control center. He was met by a hoard of people waiting in line at the rings, and the Lantean troops on station cleared a path for him and the bomb, then continued ringing people out of the city, either to a Columnar in orbit or to the stargate outpost, where an active wormhole was currently evacuating people to another sanctuary world called Relca.

Sheppard maneuvered the bomb a little ways away from the rings and stashed it in a nearby room…and office of some sort. He opened the panel and keyed the device for remote detonation from his armband, then buttoned it up and locked the door behind him. He ran off to reinforce the replicator troops that were conducting an orderly withdrawal, but still maintaining their hold on the Wraith lines.

Sheppard mentally activated his heavy armor, which sealed his hands and head into his Alterran battle suit. Unlike the light armor that he traditionally wore in the form of a forearm bracelet, the heavy armor wasn't comprised of nanites. This was hard armor, far stronger, bulkier, and cooler, in Sheppard's opinion. He likened it to a mix of Spartan armor from Halo and Ironman.

Buttoned up and fully activated, Sheppard sprinted off with heavy but quick steps towards the nearest engagement on his heads up display.

* * *

><p>Thirty five minutes later Sheppard ran back to the ring platform along with four replicators, just in time to see another 5 disappear from view. Sheppard fired three quick blasts from his forearm cannon, killing two Wraith Warriors that were in pursuit. He slid to a stop, turned and took a knee a few meters away from the ring platform and peppered the corridor behind them with quick blue blasts from both arm cannons, blowing apart Wraith, Uglies, and wall panels alike. A heavy pistol blast struck his armor, but his shields held. Two disruptor blasts washed over him as well, being completely harmless to him, but they ripped the top layer of 'skin' off one of the replicators behind him.<p>

"_Let's go_," he ordered, standing up and stepping back inside the perimeter of the rings. In unison the four replicators stepped backwards into the perimeter, firing sporadic shots off at three angles against approaching troops. The five of them were the last allied forces within the city.

Sheppard keyed the bomb, activating a 20 second countdown. He got a confirmation signal immediately then activated the rings.

The city and the approaching enemy troops disappeared in a flash of light…and the interior of the _Skywalker_ greeted them with a mass of replicators lining the hallways around the ring room.

"_Lorne, get us out of here_," Sheppard relayed to the bridge through his armor's comlink.

* * *

><p>In orbit above Leesat, four surviving Columnars and two dozen support ships broke free of the massive space battle by dropping down into the atmosphere of the planet. The rest of their fleet had been destroyed by the 4,000 enemy ships that had come to reinforce the ground operation. They'd done well to reduce that number by a third, but their time was up and they had to get clear before the enemy numbers overwhelmed them.<p>

The faster support ships were ordered on ahead, and made the upper atmosphere jump to hyperspace ahead of the four Columnars, two of which already had breached shields. They swatted away at a swarm of Wraith cruisers pacing them as they burnt hard for distance away from the hyperspace jammers that had been brought in with the enemy fleet. Fortunately they were a smaller version than those deployed by Hive ships, but they were effective none the less.

Down on the planet's surface there was a small, but bright flash. The third KITA had detonated, and the last Alterran city was destroyed within seconds. The enemy may have won the planet, but they weren't going to get anything more than rubble. Even the stargate outpost had been scuttled earlier.

A few seconds later the Columnars jumped to hyperspace one by one…then the last of the Alterran forces were gone.

Leesat was now enemy territory.

* * *

><p><em>9 months earlier…<em>

Remus sat at an information terminal in one of their shipyard/command stations hidden in deep space, going over several modifications in the genetic structure of their next generation of iktal when he suddenly found himself backlit. His old, withered body spun about but what surprise he felt he didn't let show.

"_Hello, Remus_," the glowing image of a woman said stiffly.

"_Krista_," Remus said flatly. "_I thought you were dead_."

"_Death is only the beginning of the journey_."

"_Spare me your sentimental babble_," Remus replied stiffly. "_I thought the ascended weren't allowed to communicate with the 'lesser' beings?_"

"_Usually no, we're not_," she said, matching his unwelcoming tone. "_This, however, is a special situation_."

"_Speak your piece, then be gone_," Remus said, mildly curious.

"_You have no doubt noticed the new faction within this galaxy… do you know who they are?_"

"_Do not waste my time with meaningless questions_," Remus barked. "_I know you can read my mind, so simply state your purpose and be done with it_."

"_Very well_," she said icily. "_You hold a certain animosity towards us for not helping you fight the Wraith. That is understandable and I can sympathize. They were my people too that died, Remus. Don't forget that._"

"_I haven't_," he acknowledged.

She nodded once. "_Now that I am ascended, I understand the reasons why such interference was not allowed. In fact several of us tried anyway, and were punished for our actions. We simply did not have a choice. You may hate us if you wish, but that is the way of things…as it is now_."

"_However?_" Remus asked, sensing a 'but' coming.

"_However, while we cannot interfere, we are not blind to what is happening within this galaxy…_"

Suddenly images flashed into Remus's mind, so many and so fast he could barely keep up.

"_They will conquer this galaxy, and then others if they are not stopped here and now. Your plans for galactic domination will not see fruition if current events continue to run their course…_"

Remus saw a collage of images from the future, or possible futures, he wasn't sure. This new faction, wielding their own technology, would conquer the Wraith, then subjugate or destroy Remus's people. He saw images from his future life as a slave to these…Alterra…and suddenly he understood the true nature of the threat they posed.

"_You cannot stop them…and they cannot be negotiated with. They will dominate. It is their way._"

Remus saw legions of ships pouring out from the Pegasus galaxy as the Alterra moved on and conquered other galaxies. So vivid and precise were the images that Remus was stunned. He saw in a matter of seconds years of history that had yet to be written.

Suddenly the images stopped and Remus's mind reeled as his senses returned to normal. He took a moment to steady himself, then looked up at the ascended Lantean.

"_Why show me this if nothing can be done?_"

"_Because there is a way to stop them_," she said prophetically. "_And we would rather see Pegasus in your hands than theirs. But the path you must take will require great sacrifice and fortitude of spirit_."

Remus looked her straight in the eye for several long seconds.

"_Go on_."


End file.
